JPro22 Participants: It Is My Great Pleasure to Introduce You to Cleveland

• Erika Rudin-Luria, Special to the CJN

Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News

Rudin-Luria

Welcome to The Land, Believeland, Cleveland, our home. We love our city and our community – and can’t wait for you to experience it too. From the Van Aken District to MidTown, The Cleveland Orchestra to the Cleveland Public Library, OverDrive to GOJO, CWRU’s Sears think[box] to CSU, to the Rock Hall – we model innovation, collaboration and supportive community. Jewish Cleveland is the proud home of many synagogues and learning groups of all denominations, five strong Jewish day schools, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, Mandel JCC and so much more. We are a vibrant Jewish community that continues to grow, evolve and innovate.

But our special sauce – our not-so-secret ingredient – is our people. Jewish Cleveland’s history and track record is why my husband and I moved to Cleveland 21 years ago – and the people are why we stayed. We stand on the shoulders of giants in our diverse Jewish and general communities. Our community members jump forward to assist when there are challenges and seek out opportunities to raise up others. We are diverse in background, opinion, politics and observance. In our best moments, we care about each other – even when we disagree. We feel responsible for each other and for others. We observe together, celebrate together and cry together.

Welcome to our home. We invite you to make it yours while visiting and to come back often (or move here!).

To my fellow Jewish Clevelanders: Over the course of the next four days, 1,200 professionals who work in Jewish organizations around North America will descend into downtown Cleveland for the largest gathering of Jewish professionals (and one of the largest gatherings period) since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. JPro22 – in partnership with the Jewish Federations of North America and its FTPI lead-in conference – will bring professionals of all ages and stages in their careers from Jewish education and social service agencies, Jewish federations, Jewish community centers, day schools and camps. Organizations from across the spectrum of Jewish life are all coming together to collaborate and learn, and to celebrate the resilience, strength and creativity demonstrated during the past two years.

Thank you for your resilience, strength, creativity and all you do to make our community the perfect setting for these important conversations.

Erika Rudin-Luria is the president of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood.